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For the Washington Capitals, the star man, Alex Ovechkin, is now out of the game because of the lower leg injury that he sustained on November 18, 2024 after a match with Utah Hockey Club.
The accident occurred during the last third of the match in which the Capitals won 6-2, Ovechkin collided with Utah’s forward Jack McBain. They collided while fighting for the puck, around 14:30 into the period.
Ovechkin was certainly upset after he received the hit as he barely could stand up and needed Jakob Chychrun’s assistance to have him sit down. He stayed on the bench until the game paused, trying to get back up but looked very hurt.
He ended up walking off to the locker room and didn’t come back to play. Before this, he had already scored two goals in the game, making his total for the season 15 goals in 18 games.
Ovechkin, who was leading in goals and close to breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record, was put on injured reserve on November 20, meaning he will miss at least three games. Experts think he might need a longer recovery time.
This injury cut short Ovechkin’s successful start to the season, where he was the highest scoring NHL player and only 27 goals away from breaking Gretzky’s record.
Before getting hurt, Ovechkin was having a great comeback after a less active season. He scored five goals in his last two matches, including three against the Vegas Golden Knights just before his injury against Utah. So far, he’s the oldest player at 39 or older to score 15 or more goals early in the season.
Ovechkin has tallied 868 goals, thus putting him third all-time in the sport, just behind Gretzky and Howe.
Indeed, he strives hard to break Gretzky’s record, and most fans want that. However, this injury may harm him in the chance to achieve this breakthrough this season.
The Capitals are playing pretty well this season, with a mark of 13-4-1 and leading their division.
They’ve been good and hardy, but a significant problem this season was the loss of their captain, who is also their leading scorer, and keeping the top spot without him.
Besides Alex AlOvechkin’s injury, the Capitals also put winger Sonny Milano on extended injured reserve because of a hidden upper-body injury.
Because of this, Washington brought back young forward Ivan Miroshnichenko from their AHL team in Hershey to strengthen their team.
Ovechkin has been quite a tough player in his career period of 20 years, and has only played 59 games less consistently. This absence is especially felt now.
The Capitals will feature competitive matches without actual captain, Ovechkin, who will be out of the field due to an injury.
They’ll be up against other teams who intend to have playoff runs in a tough season. Others have to pull through and get more goals in place of lost talent like Ovechkin.
At the moment, more tests are required as to confirm the health of Ovechkin and as to when he will likely recover.
The Capitals will continue to train for their next matches but at the same time, monitor Ovechkin’s progress.
The fact that Alex Ovechkin got injured and was placed on the team’s injured reserve is quite significant for him and the Washington Capitals, much more so given the team is going to lose a key player.
He’s shelving his goal-scoring ambition in order to focus on his recovery process and return to the pitch as soon as possible.
